Hello everybody,
First time posting here after lurking a couple weeks. I found this forum while investigating some finds at an online auction I've been visiting obsessively, that I hesitate to share because it seems a "honey hole", but anyway.. lots of good info here!
As a matter of fact I am currently waiting for delivery on an online auction purchase from that same site. It is a FT-132 model having the (transition era) Kalamazoo blue label with neither "union made" or "made in Japan" indicated. Ibelieve the FT-132 was produced at Masumotu (sp?) 1972-73. It has a set neck and best I can find here and epiwiki it doesn't have an adjustable truss (?).
So again.. anyway :) with fingers and toes crossed (but especially praying) I am waiting, praying that it was a great deal I imagine it to be, that it not have belly bulge.. or a crazy warp in the neck or anywhere else for that matter. By photos I can see chips and nicks around the headstock and a screw seems to be missing from one of the tuners back.. and of course it needs strings.
But while waiting and searching I have learned much I did not know but one thing obvious to me is that the 70-79 Epiphones especially FTs seem to be the stepchild many players and dealers prefer to forget. Where is the love for this still very playable and loveable, regardless of it being laminated and not solid top, model.
Anyone feel the same or wish to comment why they dislike or choose to ignore the validity of this series?